8.6.2024. 8pm IST
30 % – 40 % of the homeless in Goa on the streets are ethnic Goans or are having a goan connect and usually we tend to call all homeless on the streets as migrants or outsiders.
Which is wrong .
Why wrong ? Read on slowly.
Look at the picture with the elderly man In an unclean clothes and not at all oriented.
He is Mr Santan from Bendwad , Savordem.
Surely anyone will say he is a migrant / outsider.
But he is a ethnic goan abandoned by his family of 3 well to do sons.
Like Santan there are 100's of such poor goans on the streets across Goa , they all look like migrants.
2 months back the Mamlatdar of Sanguem helped him off the streets of Sanguem & we admitted him into our home.
But his parameters on all levels are so bad & disappointing that in last 2 months we have admitted him 4 times in the hospital but since he is old and homeless he is just ignored & discharged immediately.
》His BP is like 55 to 70 to 90 / 35 to 45 to 65.
》His pulse is like 55 to 60.
》He has INGUINAL HERNIA
》He has reducable HERNIA which can progress to Inreducable HERNIA
》Partly psychiatric in nature .
》He is an Emergecy situation patient and needs to be monitored 24*7 by one full time care giver as it's all complicated.
Undernourished, stressed, abandoned, totally weak and disappointing to be left alone in this old aged on the streets by his sons who are abroad and on the ship.
Imagine what stress we all are going through.
And like Santan we have 90 to 100 such elderly goans ladies and gents abandoned by their families on the streets.
And daily we get calls and requests to take off so many such poor homeless street people which we are unable to oblige.
GOVERNMENT OF GOA through various departments like :
☆ Social Welfare,
☆ Women and Child,
☆ Persons with Disabilities,
☆ Health,
☆Directorate of Municipal Administration, etc
actually are to be doing this job of getting the ethnic homeless goans off the streets but it's not happening.
Hundreds of homeless and beggars with disabilities we have been getting of the streets of Goa from 2017 with the expectations that the government would fund our homes.
But inspite of The Hon CM of GOA instructing Social Welfare and WCD officials to increase our grants it's only on paper.
Last few months we have gone totally slow on taking homeless off the streets and that why you can see hundreds of beggars and homeless in all cities of Goa.
Moment we slow down admissions, there is an increase on the streets and government hospitals of the homeless.
Funding is the main reason and please understand each and every homeless comes with multiple & complicated sickness especially Scabies, TB , HIV & Mental disabilities which is always chronic in nature.
Top it all ” Government hospitals across the state as of today are having huge no of poor goan & non goan homeless who are living there at the courtesy of the State “.
We are constantly asking for donations as its not an easy service being a small NGO.
Till date this is what the grants are
Social Welfare: Rs 2500 per gent per month
WCD : Rs 2500 / Rs 4500 per lady per month
If anyone recognizes SANTAN please instruct his sons to help us with our bills of caring for their dad.
All communications strictly through whatsapp messages only on 8380097564
God bless you all
Donald Fernandes
8380097564 / 7020314848
